Page 22 of Hainn

Careful, there’s a small cave in the coral on your left and there’s a bad tempered sea snake who lives there. He likes to make sudden appearances,Hainn warned, guiding her a bit more to the right.One of our guys got bitten on a recent trip and it took him three days to heal, even with my help. Not fatal to a Badari but probably would be to a human.

Jezari gave the ominous spot a wide berth, figuring the poison the snake could inject with its bite might be bad for the tiny baby she was carrying. She watched a large variety of colorful crawling reef dwellers moving here and there, some carrying big whorled shells with them. Seeing her interest Hainn scooped up an empty shell and presented it to her with a flourish.

A souvenir,he said.

She tucked it into the mesh bag hanging at her waist, pleased by the gift.

Do you need to surface yet?

I’m fine,she answered with a mental laugh.But if you need to go up I can keep you company.

Giving her an incredulous look, he shook his head. I can stay here at least another hour.

He directed them to a patch of the reef where mollusks lay cunningly buried under a sandylike ‘beach’ and they harvested enough for the dinner, using their talons and digging carefully not to stir up the sand too much. Jezari estimated there were thousands of mollusks in the bed so the quantity they were taking would hardly make a dent. Ushandirr certainly was rich in natural resources. Her mesh bag was dragging now because it was so full.

Let’s surface and give these to Stonor, Hainn said.I need to hunt big fish next.

She was amenable to the idea as long as it wasn’t because he thought she needed air. Lazily they swam to the surface and found the flyer overhead waiting. Stonor plucked the mesh bags from their hands and sent another set.So what are we hunting,Jezari asked as the flyer rose and zipped away. Vindy and Stonor sure were earning their keep on this trip.

I saw a couple of schools of big fish while we were down there. If we can catch one of them we’d have enough meat for the entire group. We’ll need to cut one out of the group. I’ve done this before so I’ll take the lead. Hain took several deep breaths and dove.

Her inner predator was excited at the prospect of a hunt. Jezari didn’t object to Hainn being in charge since he had the experience. She arrived at the reef for the second time and indulged herself in a few lingering glances at tiny fish and crustaceans going about their lives in colorful fashion. At the edge of her peripheral vision she saw a large school of fish drift by and Hainn signaled her to follow him.

The fish were a dizzying spectacle to behold, probably fifty of them, giant creatures with iridescent blue and green scales in patterns which mimicked the pattern of the ocean water and shadows. The effect was hypnotizing if she stared too long and she narrowed her eyes to concentrate. There didn’t appear to be a leader but the group moved in perfect unison, wheeling and spinning and randomly going in a complete circle at intervals for no reason she could see.They’re fast. How are we going to catch one of those with no bait?

We sneak up on the school and when it veers away, we’ll cut one out from the others and catch it.Hainn sounded confident.

Bare handed?She asked.No net?

He flashed his thick, curved brown talons at her.I’ll hook it with these.

The first attempt they made to get close to the school resulted in the whole group doing one of their precision maneuvers and scooting away.

We need to wait,Hainn said, not sounding at all upset.The school is feeding on the tiny fish and crustaceans living in this kelp bed so they’ll be back. I don’t think fish have the brightest intellect in the ocean—they’ll forget the danger we present.

Maybe if we hid at the edge of the kelp bed we could surprise them.Jezari didn’t much like the idea of going near the slimy, entangling kelp but the idea made sense to her.

Hainn agreed and they swam slowly to position themselves. The school of fish wandered back as he’d predicted and resumed their meal. He indicated the one he wanted, which wasn’t the biggest but somewhere in the middle of the range. Jezari estimated the fish probably weighed two hundred pounds or so which would yield plenty of delicious filets for their feast.

When Hainn gave her the signal she moved in unison with him, getting between the fish and its relatives. She got buffeted by several of the other fish and got no sense they were trying to hurt her or to defend their now cutoff brother, but were focused only on escape. She extended her arms and kept the fish turning as Hainn made his assault. He sank his talons into the gills on the sides and hung on as the fish bucked and dove and twisted in an attempt to throw him off. Jezari admired his athleticism and determination as he hung on and wore the fish out.

A worthy opponent, he said when the battle had been won.We need to thank the goddess for this creature’s sacrifice and honor it.

Assuredly.Jezari followed him and his trophy to the surface. She was struck by how the school of fish moved right into their feeding spot and resumed their own meal as before. The loss of one member of the group didn’t affect the others. Nature in its purest form was cold.

Hainn was applying his power to the fish a bit as he rose through the bands of water.What are you doing? Healing it?She asked in puzzlement.

No, merely taking away its pain and fear. It will sleep and not suffer. We’re hunters but we’re not animals despite 800 years of the Khagrish attempting to label us as such and force us to behave like it.

Jezari found herself pleased by his reaction. As she treaded water on the surface with him and waited for the flyer to pick them up, she said, “I enjoyed this afternoon immensely. Thank you for showing me the reef and including me on the hunt. I’ve never done anything quite like it.”

His face lit up. “I was hoping to give you new experiences so I’m glad to hear you had fun. It was my privilege to be your guide.”

“The only bad thing is now the poor lake isn’t going to seem adequate to me again,” she said with mock sadness. The careless remark reminded her of the real reason she was avoiding the lake now and she suppressed the pang of sadness over the alien woman trapped forever in the cold watery tomb.

“Now you can understand how my brothers and I feel about it,” Hainn responded cheerfully. “And this place, while it has its own beauty of an austere sort is nothing like our own South Seas.”

“I hope I get to see them someday,” she said with genuine enthusiasm.

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